My favourite player: #1 Derek Dougan

I've been looking for people to write about their favourite player, and I was fortunate enough to be sent this brilliant article about 'the Doog' by Steve Harris.

The statistics are impressive but hardly scratch the surface. 648 games (307 for The Wolves), 280 goals (123 for The Wolves). 43 caps for Northern Ireland (8 goals).

The Doog, a name that adorned many walls in Wolverhampton, played for six Football League clubs, Pompey, Blackburn, Villa, Posh, Leicester and The Wolves. Nine years with the first 5 and his last nine with The Wolves.

He loved Wolverhampton and Wolverhampton loved him!

He was a writer, fact and fiction, a brilliant TV pundit (God, could MoTD do with him now!), a fashion model, radio presenter and a remarkable chairman of the PFA. He brought an All Ireland Team together to play Brazil and paid for it with his international career.

He was a great footballer but so, so much more and that is why we loved him.

I support The Wolves because, in 1965, my Dad took me to see a game at Southampton. He wanted me to support the local side that had started well in Division 2. The famous Wolves were in town, having just been relegated, so the old Dell was packed. I was never good at doing what I was told so I chose The Wolves! We scored first, lost 9-3 and that was that. (A few years back I was at Molineux for the 0-6 loss to Saints and, for a week, had my Wolves supporting career bookended by two 6 goal defeats to the same team! Unique??). Worse, my brother DOES support Saints!

The Doog joined for the last 11 games the next season, scored a hat-trick against Hull City on debut (what else?), 6 more and The Wolves were back in Division 1.

 

Games for me, over the next 9 years, were few and far between. Parents abroad, school in Sussex, the odd away game in London was the best I could do. I used to wait for Wolves to be playing a London side because then they would be on The Big Match on LWT on a Sunday afternoon. 

The Doog was flamboyant, communicated with the crowd and, as I can prove, was a kind, thoughtful man. I plagued him for signed pictures to put in his books. He always responded and, when I was exiled to the USA in my teen years’ holidays, he sent me the Wolves fixture list as soon as it was published with a covering letter without me asking! Imagine that today!!

In October 1969 Doog got sent off for the second time in the season for alleged abuse of a linesman. It provoked a near riot and they threw the book at him. An 8 week ban was the punishment despite that fact that he had witnesses, including 2 from opponents Everton, and the linesman had none. The authorities didn’t like people who challenged them but the fans did. The Doog had a personal hearing and many fans travelled to London just to sit outside it. People boycotted games until his return and a 9 year old boy who had never been to a game was reported as being inconsolable (no, it wasn’t me!)

1972 was O Level year and my granddad was so worried about me that he wrote me a long letter. He said that he was concerned that “Derek Dougan and all that that name represents” was taking up all of my time and I would fail everything. He wasn’t wrong! I almost did.

In truth I saw some great games, we always seemed to win or draw 2-2 at Chelsea, but I never saw a game live where Doog was at his best.

Just four stand out and the first and biggest was the 1974 League Cup Final. Wolves against the wonderfully flashy Man City side of Marsh, Law, Bell, Lee and the rest. It was John Richards’ League Cup really, scoring in all rounds bar one, including the winner here when he could hardly walk, and the one that knocked Liverpool out in the quarter final. Man of the match was birthday boy Gary Pierce in goal but it was pictures of Dougan and Law that stole the headlines the next morning as Law, in a Wolves shirt, celebrated the Doog getting some silverware and Doog knelt down and gave thanks. He didn’t mean to steal the show. He just was the show!

Game 2 was my first at Molineux. I went to Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University) in 1974. It was a close to Wolverhampton as I dare get without giving the game away...... Second week of term, Wolves v Porto, UEFA Cup 1^st Round; 1-4 down from first leg. First person in the ground on a drizzly night. Won 3-1 but, if I recall, we were undone by an outrageous own goal from the kick-off away and another o.g. at home after taking an early lead. The game was memorable for a long range headed goal by Doog, his last in Europe, and Porto’s diving and faking injury. I think they invented it! At one point Dougan and another (was it Steve Daley?) picked up a mortally wounded Porto player and dropped him over the touchline! Might not get away that these days but then there would have been injury time! It was a cracking game. 

Game 3 was a reserve game v Man City. It was in his last season, 1974-5, and the miserable Bill McGarry, who appeared to resent the relationship that The Doog had with the fans, was determined not to play him in the first team. So, I rang the ground to ask if he was playing in the reserves and I, along with a few hundred others turned up. No idea what the score was but I do recall The Doog explaining to young winger Jimmy Kelly what his role was!

And the last was his last. 26 April 1975 and McGarry relented to name him as sub, ironically against Leeds including some of the players that had tried to get Wolves to throw the final game of the season 3 years earlier. It was very satisfying to see them form the guard of honour at the start of the game! The game was entirely meaningless (Leeds finished 9^th, 6 points ahead of Wolves) but McGarry delayed and delayed. I think he got about 15 minutes and the final cries of “on his head” rang out.

Better players may have played for The Wolves, but not many, and the memories are very strong.

You can follow Steve on twitter @stevejharris

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